T.J. Klune - Bear, Otter, and the Kid 2 - Who We Are (36 page)

“A friendly peck among friends,” Isaiah reassures him. “He was looking a little sad that day, and I thought to myself, ‘Isaiah, old buddy, you gotta bring that smile back.’” He shrugs. “You gotta admit, Bear’s got a killer smile. I was just doing my duty for the world.”

Oh, Isaiah. Please, oh please, just shut your mouth.

“Are you for
real
?” Otter says incredulously, and I think that maybe I’m going to need to intervene in a moment because this is starting to get dangerously close to having two guys fight over me, and I think that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. In fact, a lot of my life seems ridiculous lately.

“Yes, Walrus. I am a real boy,” Isaiah smirks.

Otter’s had enough. I should have told Isaiah that while Otter might seem like the coolest cat in the room, there are certain things that can cause him to snap. Apparently the thought of Isaiah getting up on me is one of them. “Now you listen to me,” Otter says, his voice low and harsh. “You may be in the same classes as Bear, and for some reason that I don’t quite get, he seems to think of you as a friend. I’m not going to be that guy who tells the man he loves who he can and cannot hang out with. But do not mistake that for complacency. I swear on everything that I have, if you
ever
try to touch Bear again, I will end you. If you so much as look at him like you’re noticing him in ways you shouldn’t, I will make your life so much of a living hell that you’ll wish you’d never tried anything in the first place. I am not a man you fuck with, and I will do
anything
to protect what’s mine. You got me?
Isaiah
?” Then he leans down and cups my face in his hands, kissing me ferociously, his lips hot and harsh against mine, his teeth gnashing against my lips.

Be still, my beating heart.

Who
says
shit like that? Jesus fucking Christ, if I wasn’t already head over heels in love with him, I’d have fallen the rest of the way right now. All I want to do is take off my clothes and spread myself out on the table to let that big fucker take me six ways from Sunday while having a tattoo artist signing Otter’s name across my forehead.

Beer Me says what we’re all thinking: “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.” The rest of the boys agree. Even Isaiah.

“I can see that now,” he says slowly, as if trying to pick out the right words and having a hard time doing so. “And not because I’m scared of you in the slightest. Although, I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone ever threaten to
end me
. You sure know how to get a guy all hot and bothered, Walrus.”

“That’s not my name,” Otter barks at him.

“Sorry. I meant to say Otter. Geez. Take it down a couple of notches, big guy. You made your point. Bear’s yours and you’re his, and you’ll maim and murder anyone who thinks otherwise. Who knew the caveman mentality was still a real thing?”

“Uh, Isaiah, it’s probably a good time not to say anything further,” I say. “Sit down, meet the guys, but for the love of all that’s holy, shut your trap for, like, six seconds.”
“I need another beer,” Otter mutters, stalking off toward the bar.

“I’ll go with you,” David says, obviously want to help. The bastard. I glare at his back as he trails after Otter. Isaiah notices this but says nothing. “Did you really kiss Bear?” Jordan asks suspiciously, as Isaiah took a seat on my right.

Isaiah shrugs. “It’s not like it meant anything. We’re friends.” Muscles Magoo laughs. “Then you obviously don’t know Otter.”

“I think we established that when I introduced myself to him,” Isaiah says dryly.

Jordan shakes his head. “What he means is, if you’d known Otter and his history with Bear, you’d have known that kissing Bear was the dumbest idea you’ve probably ever had.”

“Let me guess,” Isaiah says. “Long story?”

Beer Me shrugs, chugging down what looks like his seventh beer. “I never met Bear before today, and I don’t know Otter real well. But even
I
know you don’t fuck around with Bear. Otter’s like… like… like totally in
love
with the guy.” Beer Me shakes his head like he doesn’t get it. “To each their own, I guess.”

Gee, thanks, Beer Me.

“What he means is that Otter has been in love with Bear forever,” Jordan continues. “Now that he’s finally got him, he’s not letting go. Otter’s very… protective of those that he thinks are his. It might be slightly misguided, but it comes from a good place. And if there’s one person you do not want to fuck with, it’s Otter.”

“You don’t say,” Isaiah says, looking so supremely bored that I want to smack him across the face. “And what about that guy that went with him to get a beer? The one that’s holding onto his elbow and laughing with him? Does
he
know this too?”

We all follow Isaiah’s line of sight and see David and Otter standing at the bar, David’s hand latched onto Otter’s arm, David leaning in and saying something that makes Otter laugh and shake his head. Otter’s shoulders lose their rigidness, and he doesn’t try to pull away from David’s grip.

“That’s my little brother’s teacher,” I grumble.

 

“Pot, meet kettle,” Isaiah says as he rubs his jaw. “He’s hot for your man, it seems like.”

“They’ve got history,” Beer Me stage-whispers.
“And David hasn’t really gotten over it,” Guy With Glasses says.

“Oh, please,” Mini Me scoffs. “It lasted, like, six months five years ago. David needs to grow up and move on.”

 

“Some people are hard to forget,” Muscles Magoo adds.

“Not that it matters,” Jordan says, glancing back at me. “Otter’s not stupid. Especially after that little show he just provided.” His eyes grow stern. “Did you kiss him back?” he asks me.

I shake my head.

“Bear maintained his innocence,” Isaiah says, patting me on the hand. “He’s a one-man kind of guy.” The others start talking among themselves, and he leans over and says for only me to hear, “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say as I glower at David, who’s now paying for Otter’s beer. They don’t seem to be walking back toward the table, obviously content to talk about memories past and how much they miss each other and how they just want to go fuck in the seedy back room.

“You want me to go run interference for you?” Isaiah asks. “David’s pretty hot, I gotta say. I wouldn’t mind helping you out with that one.”

“You’re so selfless.”
He grins. “Don’t I know it. This David guy causing you trouble?”

I shake my head. “I trust Otter. It’s the other guys I have a hard time with.”

“Well, if Walrus’s little fit is to be believed, you don’t have anything to worry about,” he says. “That man is obviously head over heels for you. It’s sickening, really.”

“Yeah, something like that,” I say, my voice hardening as David rocks his head back, laughing way too loudly at something Otter has said. Otter’s not
that
funny. I should know. I fucking
live
with him, I see him every
day
, and I’m about to stand and rush over to David and ask him what part of Otter’s introduction to Isaiah did he not understand and did he
really
think that just because Isaiah had kissed me briefly once that Otter would
really
just fall right back into his stupidly muscled arms like nothing else mattered?

“Now, there’s the claws I wondered about,” Isaiah says, laughing as he pulls me back down before I can rip David’s pretty little face off. “Walrus isn’t stupid, so there’s no need for you to be. Besides,” he says, leaning in, his lips near my ear. “I’ve got a better idea. Walrus already doesn’t like me, so may as well use that instead of you making a scene.”
“I’m not going to fuck you,” I tell him.

His eyes go comically wide. “Not what I had in mind, but I like the way you think. You sure about that?”

 

I think for a moment, but only a moment. “I’m sure,” I say. Isaiah watches me knowingly. “Well, why don’t we just leave it at that, then? You know how to dance?”

 

“Uh… not really. I’m more of the… not-dancing type, if you know what I mean.”

“Well, you’re in luck, because I make anyone who dances with me look good, so get ready for the ride of your life, baby. Walrus won’t know what hit him, and trust me, he’ll never even remember the name David. You ready?”

“I don’t know….”
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey, yourself,” I say back, unable to stop myself.
“You trust me?”
“Not even a little bit.”

“I’ll take it,” he says with a grin as he grabs my arm and pulls me to the dance floor.

I bump into a few other guys and apologize profusely but am promptly ignored in favor of the deep bass that thrums from the speakers overhead, causing my teeth to vibrate in their sockets. The lights are bright and shoot across my vision, and I’m blinded, if only for a moment. It’s in this blindness that Isaiah presses up against my back, his body liquid smooth as his hips begin to move against mine. I don’t know what I’m doing, and it shows. I’m stiff against him, my body unable to move with the fluid grace that he seems to have. “Just relax,” he shouts in my ear. “Let me lead.”

What have I got to lose?

So I let go, as much as I can. Isaiah puts his hands on my hips and pushes one way and then the other, causing me to rock with him and against him. It’s dirty, this grinding, and I know I look ridiculous, but then Isaiah whispers in my ear to look, to look over at Otter, and I do, and I find his heated gaze on me, David left forgotten at the bar with a surprised look on his face as Otter prowls the edge of the dance floor, the gold-green almost gone to black, popping his knuckles as his lips twist in a sneer. Isaiah does this neat little roll with his body and slides up and down my back and breathes against the back of my head. “You so owe me after this,” he says, and I can finally feel his dick against my ass. “But you’re lucky I don’t want my favor right now.” He lets me go and walks toward Otter, who looks like he’d have no problem murdering Isaiah in front of everyone. Isaiah stops in front of him and says something, causing Otter to snarl in his face. Isaiah looks back at me and winks before walking off to the bar.

Otter’s in front of me before I even see him move. “What the fuck was that all about?” he snaps at me, pressing up against me.

“Have a nice conversation with David?” I growl right back. “Don’t allow me to interrupt. He sure had a good hold on you. Rumor is that he’s not completely over you. But I think you know that.”

“Don’t be a dick, Bear. It’s not a good look for you.”
“Don’t be an asshole, Otter. Same thing applies.”

We stare at each other for a moment before I see the corner of his mouth start to move, and I try to stay mad at him for something,
anything
, but I can’t. It’s Otter. He still breaks first and laughs loudly and cups my face and kisses me. I breathe him in as I kiss him back, and his tongue finds mine, and there’s something oh so weird and oh so hot about making out in front of all these people, even though no one cares and I doubt anyone is watching. That thought is immediately put to rest when I hear catcalls coming from our table, and Beer Me shouts something indecipherable that causes them to laugh. Otter smiles against my lips, and I allow myself to think that maybe, just maybe, this will be for the rest of my life, that I’ll have this man with me for the rest of my life, that nothing, not Jonah, not my mother, not fucking David or Isaiah could take us apart. The gold-green is back as he watches me, and it’s like I’m all he sees. It’s like I’m all there is to him.

“What’d Isaiah say to you?” I ask.

 

Otter snorts. “He said I better treat you good because if there’s ever a moment you’re single, he’s snatching you up and not letting you go.”

“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you know that’s not happening, right?”
He arches an eyebrow. “Oh
I
know. But now Isaiah does too.”

“What about—” I’m interrupted when my phone vibrates from my pocket. The screen is lit and showing I have a new picture message. I open it up and see Mrs. Paquinn has taken a picture of Ty, curled up in the bathtub in his PJs, looking like he’s sound asleep, his face lined with worry.
Just thought you should know
, the message reads.
I can handle until tomorrow.

Crap. I show it to Otter, who immediately grabs me by the hand and pulls me back to the table. “Sorry, guys,” he says as he grabs our coats. “We’ve got to cut this short. Emergency back home.” The tone in his voice lets them know he’s serious. The guys immediately jump up and hug the both of us, asking us to let them know if there’s anything they can do. I scowl at David as he hugs Otter longer than he should until Otter pulls away and takes my hand again. Isaiah asks me to text him later and tells me he’ll see me next week. We’re out the front of the club before I can even think.

“Are you sure you’re okay with us leaving?” I ask him in a small voice. “I know you haven’t seen your friends in a while. I feel bad making us leave early.”

Otter puts his arms around my shoulders and pulls me close, leaning down to kiss my forehead. “You’re kidding, right? Bear, we have to go take care of Ty. There’s no place else I’d rather be. Don’t feel bad. I don’t. We gotta stop by the hotel and grab our shit and check out. Text Mrs. Paquinn and let her know we’ll be home in less than two hours.”

Then something else hits me as we reach the car, and he unlocks and opens my door for me. “Otter?”

 

“Yeah, honey?” That word again. Fuck.

 

“You were saying something… in the bar. Before Jordan grabbed you.”
Shut up, shut
up
!
“What… what were you going to ask me?”

He watches me for a moment as he waits for me to get in the car. He closes the door behind me and walks slowly around the front of the car, his brow furrowed. I’m terrified at what he’ll say when he opens the door, and it’s the longest five seconds of my life. I lean over and unlock the driver’s door of his Jeep, and then his hand is on the handle and it pulls up and the door opens, the cold pouring in, and he sits down and closes the door behind him. He puts his hands on the steering wheel and exhales and opens his mouth and says, “Let’s just focus on Ty for now, okay? Let’s go home and take care of the Kid. It’s not important.”

But it is important, I know it is. But do I say anything? Do I insist? Of course not. I just nod. And look away.